Using stuff I learned here...

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kenneth nixon

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I'm in the process of remixing/remastering all these tunes. The top two are done (until the next update, as I learn something every day) and the rest are in progress.

Thanks to all for the tech help/recording advice/equipment recs...this is a great site for everyone interested in home recording.

Any feedback is appreciated, especially on the overall mix and EQ of the recordings as that's been my main weakness up to now.

http://www.ampcast.com/kennethnixon

Thanks.

kbn
 
Hello Ken,

I really wish I could comment more on the mixes, but my baby son is asleep and I don't want to wake him up.... so I'm listening at a very low volume.

That being said, the only thing that I definitely could hear (on the negative side) is the canned drums and that the recordings themselves lack clarity at the top end.

As far as the songs go, I liked ALL of them! Your writing is very good and I appreciate the diversity in your musical styles.
I thought the vocals and guitarwork were pretty darned good.
Even your fiddle playing was decent. :)
I'm also a writer/player/singer/producer who does several styles of music with my partner (MAC2 on this BBS).
I thought some of your songs have good potential, while others seemed to be a bit dated compared to what's being played on commercial radio these days. Don't feel bad... most of our stuff is, too. ;)
Still, they are really good songs!

I'll try to listen tomorrow during the day to comment more on the mixes. Nice work, though.

Buck
 
Buck -

Thanks so much for the review. I'm still learning these MSP5's, so every little bit helps as far as getting the right the balance for every system (as if that were truly possible). Also I appreciate the good words on the songs...a couple of them actually ARE dated...from the mid-80's...I'm hoping to find the perfect EQ's before unleashing the new stuff :D .

Thanks again for taking the time to listen.

kbn
 
Hey Ken, I enjoyed your stuff, like the way you wear many hats very well.

I didnt hear any fiddling, dagnabit! Only listened to two songs, will check out more later. Nice songs, Dave
 
Dave -

Thanks for the feedback!

Sorry, I took down the fiddle tunes from Ampcast (sort of sh*tkicking country numbers) until I get better sounding masters. But one called "Mile Away" is still on my Soundclick site.

I could never settle into just one hat, so I guess I'll never be a "star"...just a happy songwriter. Hope to someday run my own little studio business and record demos full time. If wishes were horses...

kbn
 
kenneth, I checked out your other tunes too, very well done. I am trying to do the "one man band" thing too, but I have a lot to learn. Glad to see you have learned how to do it.

I play violin too. If you have a chance, check out http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/classical/davidk/ and check out the last two songs. If it all possible, download them, because the lo -fi sucks.

NC is my second home, I played with the North Carolina Symphony years ago, but I visit all the time... Dave
 
Very cool, Dave...a real Maestro! If I could play like that I'd invest in a real fiddle. What kind is that one in the pic? Looks dangerous :D

This is the first time I've heard of Nowhere Radio. Looks like an interesting site.

I love NC. I'm south of Wilmington on 17 near the coast...the hurricane magnet (we've been lucky the past couple of seasons).

kbn
 
Hey Ken.
I listened to "Time don't mean nothing to you".
On an unqualified and hyper-critical note, I would say that the top end of the drums could use more of a presence. Make those cymbals accent harder. More volume I suppose.
I thought the mix was solid however, my ear said more rhythm git on the verse and maybe a harder pan. Then, on the thicker fills and the solo, the lead would have more of an impact and spotlight. I listened on lofi so I'm sure I missed alot.
Well written tune ( I havn't heard a clunker from you yet) and great use of the chord progression. Nice git work and an honest vocal delivery.
I've listened to some of your other stuff and enjoyed it all.
Nice to know there are well rounded unknowns out there that I can gain from and share with.

Peace,
Theron.
 
Many thanks for the good words, Theron!

I'm still noodling around with the mixes, and I think cymbals are a plague from God. Just so happens I'm working on that song tonight with some new drum samples, but the crash cymbals still don't work too well. They sound great alone, but really muck up the high mids in the mix. I haven't found the trick to getting them distinct yet.

I've gained an incredible amount of info from lurking here over the past few months. It's great to find so many excellent people willing to share what they know.

kbn
 
Wow, great songs! I like the songs themselves (listened to the top 2), the instrumentation, lead vocal, good!

Overall eq I thought was a bit thin, like lacking in the lower mid bottom end. The worst aspect, I thought, was the compression. Kind of too compressed. Songs nowadays are very compressed, but this sounded almost kind of distorted. Were you using a software compressor that simulates tube or tape distortion? Seemed like the distortion kind of "messed up" the mix a bit.

Otherwise, great!

- GT
 
GT-

I truly appreciate the input and the good words.

The mixing and mastering were done with Cubase and Wavelab using plug-ins that come with them. I do sometimes overcompress tracks, and I'm working on solutions to my problems that don't involve compression. I'm even reworking the "new" versions I posted a couple of weeks ago because I learn something new every time I try again. I've discovered that hi-pass and low-pass EQ filters on certain individual tracks can help clean up the whole mix a great deal. Also, I've begun rolling off the bass guitar and drums at a little higher freq, which allows the other tracks some room to breathe.

Any distortion you hear is probably something already distorted (like a lead or grungy guitar track) being enhanced by too much compression or limiting, or some other goofy trick I tried. Hopefully the next batch of updates will sound a few hundred percent better.

kbn
 
Only time for a sample, but sounded really great. Skynard came to mind for the guitar sound.

Very clear sounding recording.

GT
 
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